Michael j



M. J. WALSH.

APPARATUS FOR CASTING BRAKE SHOES.

APPLICATION men NOV. 9. um.

1 ,3 1 5 ,805 Patented Sept. 9, 1919.

MICHAEL J. WALSH, 0F MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA.

APPARATUS non cAsr no-BnAKn-snons.

Speciflcation o! Letters latent.

Patented Sept. 9, 1919.

Application filed November 9, 917. Serial No. 201,160.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MICHAEL J, WALsn, a subject of the King of Great Britain and resident of the city of Montreal, in the Province Oi Quebec and Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Casting Brake-Shoes, of which the following is a full, clear,and exact description.

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for casting bra'keshoes, and the object of the invention is to provide a si1nple, durable and easily operated molding apparatus for the continuous casting of brakeshoes or other suitable articles.

A further object is to provide an improved means for supporting inserts in the mold.

The invention consists essentially in providing a mold havinga cope movable longitudinally and vertically in its own plane relatively to the drag, so as to allow for x pansion of the metal in cooling. The cope is provided with. an opening by which an insert in. the mold is exposed and may be gripped for support, or throughwhieh the insert may project for support. The drag is rigidly supported in a suitable position for pouring, and the cope arranged to be lifted off and placed on the drag by overhead hoisting means. 1

In the drawings which illustratethe in.- ventionz- Figure 1 is a sectional view of a brakeshoe mold.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation thereof.

Fig. 3 is a section oatlie' line 3--3, Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 11 designates the drag and 12 the cope of a brakeshoe mold. The drag is provided with an end member 13- overlapping the end of the cope, and provided with a groove or runner 14 through which the molten metal. is led into the mold. The cope is provided at the opposite end with an end member 15 which overlaps the end of the drag. The cope and drag may be provided on the longitudinal edges with interengaging flanges or ribs 16 which will hold the parts in proper 'alinement, but obviously will not prevent relative longitudinal movement. The parting line, designated 17, may be anywhere desired, and will be located according to the shape of the article to be cast. In a brakeshoe, it is preferably located between the face and back usually nearer the back than the face. The drag is secured to any suitable support 18, while the cope is provided with any suitable means 19 for raising and handling same.

To enable the back strap, designated 20, to be supported in the mold prior to and during the casting operation, a large recess 21 is formed in the cope having an opening-22 which communicates with the in terior of the mold, and through which the loop 23 of the back strap projects, the openingbeing preferably of such size that the loop fits snugly therein, so that the molten ironw'ill not be able to flow up between the loop andthe cope. The loop is provided with openings 24 for keying the brakeshoe to a brake head, and these openings are made use of to secure the strap back in the mold in the following manner :Hooks 25 of any suitable size and shape are provided which pass through the recess 21 and engage in the openings 24: of the loop. These hooks may be supported in any suitable manner, such as by a taper pin 26 which passes through eyes 27 on the hooks, Preferably, though not necessarily, the pin is tapered, so that it may be easily inserted and will draw the back strap tightly against the cope. In order to insure proper positioning of the back strap 20 and a uniform tension on the hooks 25, the outer surface of the cope may be provided with a slight depression 28, for the reception of the pin 26, so that the pin will always be located in exactly the same spot. y a

In carrying out the manufacture of brakeshoes, a back strap 20 is inserted in the cope, while the same is elevated above the drag. The hooks25are engaged in the openings of the strap loop, and the pin 26 pushed so as to draw equally on the hooks 25 and support the back strap in the cope, and hold the same tightly against the surface of the cope so that molten iron will not enter between the strap and cope. This close engagement of the back strap and cope is particularly important around the opening 22,

as the strap acts as a seal for this opening and prevents the molten iron escapmg there-h from into the recess 21. To guard against any leakage of molten iron through the opening 22 due to a badly formed back strap, a small amount of sand, designated 29, may be thrown into the recess and the cope slightly a itated to cause the same to work through t e openings 24.- of the strap loop and entirely fill the lower part of the recess 21. The cope is lowered on the drag where it fits accurately by reason of the inter-engaging flanges 16 and the ends 13 and 15. The molten metal is poured in through the runner 14 which is naturally located at the highest end of the mold. The metal runs down to the bottom of the mold and any air and gases trapped in the mold escape through the vent 30 at the lower end. When the metal commences to solidify, it expands slightly, and if this expansion is greater than theexpansion of the mold due to the transference of heat, the cope and drag will be moved relatively to one another, so that they are not called upon to resist any force which would tend to burst them. In casting brakeshoes, the expansion of the metal on solidifying is very slight in the lateral and vertical directions, and in point of fact, owing to the position of the mold and the manner in which the metal accumulates therein, there is almost no expansion in these directions, but only in the longitudinal direction. Obviously, the only thing that prevents the cope from moving in the vertical direction is its own weight, so that if there is any lateral expansion of the metal, it will still be soft enough to flow, so that the expansion is transferred into either a vertical or a longitudinal direction or both. Owing to the position of the mold, a very perfect casting is obtained. The metal which first enters the mold is that which forms the face of the shoe. If the metal stiffens on striking the cooler mold, the layer of molten metal above it operates to keep it soft and force it closely against the drag, so that a very smooth casting is obtained. As the metal runs quietly down through the mold any bubbles of air or gas, which have been carried in with the metal, have ample time to separate from the metal and are not imprisoned, as frequently occurs when the brakeshoe is poured vertically.

In practice, it is obvious that more than my hand.

one mold will be used. The molds will be arranged in batteries, and the metal will be poured into them in succession. The number of moldsin each battery will preferably be regulated, so that by the time the last mold of the battery is opened and the casting removed, the first mold will be sufliciently cooled for the insertion of a new back strap and for the reception of a fresh charge of molten metal. In this manner, the process of casting may be carried on continuously without any loss of time, and without having a large number of molds idle, for considerable periods of time. It will also be seen that by carrying on manufaoture in a continuous manner, the molds will after thefirst few castings have been made, reach a temperature which they will maintain with very little variation. This is of considerable advantage, as it insures all castings being made under exactly similar conditions.

I refer to a co-pending case #201,159, filed November 9, 1917, as hearing on this subject matter.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is y 1. An apparatus for casting brakeshoes, comprising a mold having an apertured cope, a recess around the aperture, means "for supporting an insert in themold, and

means located in the recess temporarily closing the aperture.

An apparatus for casting brakeshoes comprising a mold having a cope apertured 'to receive the lug of a brakeshoe back strap,

and adjustable means in said aperture engageable with the lug to hold the back strap in position in the mold.

3. A device according to claim 2, in which the adjustable means includes a lug, gripping fingers and a wedge holding the fingers.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set 'MIOHAEL J. WALSH.

Copies of this, patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. O. 

